Ventilating air distributing channel bar

ABSTRACT

Ventilation air distributing apparatus supported by a suspended ceiling grid comprises an air flow channel formed of two extruded metal bars having vertical webs with hook formations on the outside of the web defining ways into which the wings of a bracket project to hold the spaced bars in a channel assembly. A clip integral with the bracket hooks over the top of a grid tee and has gripper conformations to mate with a clip on the opposite side of the tee to align channels. Along the top of the web of each bar are two upwardly and outwardly extending spaced arms which are used to hold the sides of a fiberglass air duct. Flanges extending toward each other between the webs carry adjustable shutters to control the flow of air. At the bottom of the webs are flanges forming supports for ceiling panels and an air distributor.

Rachlin et al.

[ Sept. 25, 1973 VENTILATING AIR DISTRIBUTING CHANNEL BAR Inventors: Joel R. Rachlin, 1785 Wedgewood West, Elm Grove, Wis. 53122; Rudolph Otto Neudek, W271Nl275 Meadowbrook Rd., Waukesha, Wis. 53186 Filed: June 12, 1972 Appl. No.: 262,038

Related US. Application Data Continuation of Ser. No. 10,508, Feb. 1 1, 1970, Pat.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1970 Newell et al. 98/40 DL 10/1963 La Vigne 98/40 D 12/1962 Ericson 98/40 D 12/1965 Schuh 98/40 D 3,577,904 5/1971 Lambert 98/40 D Primary Examiner-William F. ODea Assistant ExaminerPeter D. Ferguson Attorney--l-loward H. Darbo et al.

[5 7] ABSTRACT Ventilation air distributing apparatus supported by a suspended ceiling grid comprises an air flow channel formed of two extruded metal bars having vertical webs with hook formations on the outside of the web defining ways into which the wings of a bracket project to hold the spaced bars in a channel assembly. A clip integral with the bracket hooks over the top of a grid tee and has gripper conformations to mate with a clip on the opposite side of the tee to align channels. Along the top of the web of each bar are two upwardly and outwardly extending spaced arms which are used to hold the sides of a fiberglass air duct. Flanges extending toward each other between the webs carry adjustable shutters to control the flow of air. At the bottom of the webs are flanges forming supports-for ceiling panels and an air distributor.

1 Claim, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEI] SEP25|975 SHEET 1 BF 3 PATENTEUSEPZSIQH 3.760.710

SHEEI 2 BF 3 PATENTED'SEPZSIM 3.760 0 SHEET 3 BF 3 RELATED APPLICATION This application is a division of U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 10,508, filed Feb. II, 1970 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,673,945, dated July 4, 1972. It relates particularly to the bars which form the air flow channel.

I BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Various forms of structures have been proposed and used for providing ventilating air distribution in-connection with suspended ceilings. The systems in commercial use suffer from a common I disadvantage; namely, they must be assembled (to a greater or lesser extent) at the ceiling level. This is difficult and awkward to do. Inevitably, it results in very high labor costs. At the very minimum they require the installation and attachment of wires, rods, or other supports to the air duct and distribution apparatus while the latter is otherwise being held in place. Great care and skill is needed to properly install the structures.

Also, in known systems, installation requires measuring and cutting and otherwise fitting of materials and parts in expensive custom manner. The bill of materials for a given job requires considerable figuring to arrange for a balanced and adequate supply'of materials and parts. The systems and installation procedures are geared to now obsolete scales of building trade labor costs.

The principal object and advantage of the present invention is to provide metal bars a pair of which form a simplified air-distributing apparatus which may be completely assembled at a convenient working location (on a bench or even on the floor) and then merely lifted into place and deposited on the ceiling grid structure. .There is no neccessity for any independent suspension for the air distribution apparatus. It uses the same suspension, i.e., the tees or channels of the ceiling grid structure, that is otherwise present for supporting the ceiling.

, A very real and important object and achievement of the invention is the saving of upwards of one-half of the field labor installation costs as compared with known contemporary systems.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of portions of an installation utilizing one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the embodiment of FIG. 1 employed in a ceiling wherein the airdistributing apparatus is flush with the surface of the ceiling;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an example of a fiberglass duct section;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one of the brackets used for supporting the apparatus from grid tees;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the apparatushardware;

FIG. 6 is a side view of one of the fiberglass'duct retainers;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the air discharge grille;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the air extractor,

FIG. 9 is a section as viewed along the line 9-9 of FIG. 8, and

FIG. 10 is a partially disassembled view illustrating the manner in which the bracket of FIG. 4 is used.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS The following disclosure is offered for public dissemination in return for the grant of a patent. Although it isdetailed to ensure adequacy and aid understanding, this is not intended to prejudice that purpose of a patent which is to cover each new inventive concept therein no matter how others may later disguise it by variations in form or additions or further improve ments. The claims at the end hereof are intended as the chief aid toward this purpose, as it is these that meet the requirement of pointing out the pans, improvements, orcombinations in which the inventive concepts are found.

FIG. 1 illustrates the use of an embodiment. with a ceiling system comprising conventional grid of longitudinal (main) tees 15 and cross-tees 16, with ceiling tiles 17. The tees conventionally have a bottom flange 18 on each side and a bulbous head 19. Any conventional means, such as wires (not shown), for supporting main tees 15 may be employed.

In this embodiment of the invention two bar members, generally 21 and 22, are employed. These bar members are formed from extruded metal, e.g., aluminum. They are identical and one has been turned end for end with respect to the other so that one forms a left and the other forms a right. Describing, specifically, the bar on the left in FIG. 1, the section from which the bar member is formed comprises a vertical web 23, having at the lower end thereof an inwardly extending flange 24 and an outwardly extending flange 25. A longitudinal rib forms what may be termed a finget 26' extending upwardly in spaced relation to web 23. A hooked rib forms an upper finger 27. These two ribs, equally spaced from web 23, define a partially enclosed way for receiving the wings of the mounting brackets, as hereinafter described. An inwardly extending rib forms a shelf 28. Extending upwardly from the top of web 23 is an angular arm 29. A second arm '30 extends outwardly from web 23 in spaced, parallel relation to arm 29.

Adjacent the distal edge of the exterior bottom flange 25 is a downwardly extending support member 31 having a rib 32 along the bottom thereof.

To support the bar members 21 and 22 in proper relation to each other and form the air-distributing channel, and to mount the channel on the tees 15, a pair of brackets, generally 35, are employed (as best seen in FIGS. 1, 4 and 10). Bracket 35 is formed from sheet metal and includes a plate 36 which eventually lies alongside the vertical portion of the tee. Extending outwardly at right angles from plate 36 are a pair of wings 37 and 38. These wings are of a size to be received and wings 37 and 38). The positioning is such that when the two brackets are applied to opposite sides of a supporting grid tee (see FIGS. and the grippers from the two sides interdigitate so that opposite wings of the two brackets on each side of the tee are in exact alignment. The lower portion 39a of the bar 39 fits under bulbous head 19 of the tee when the bracket is mounted thereon. This, in combination with the gripper 42 extending around the top of the head 19 and down partially over the far side, provides a secure gripping of the tee by the bracket.

A section of fiberglass ducting is used for the air supply duct. This is conventional ducting material which may be formed to the shape most convenient for the particular installation. Two folds 45 (FIG. 3) to form a triangular duct is usually the simplest. This triangular duct has a top 46 and two sides 47 and 48. The lower portions 47a and 48a of the two sides are inserted into the two slots defined by the spaced arms 29 and 30 of the bars 21 and 22. To facilitate this, the upper portions of arms 29 are outwardly curved, as indicated at 29a. The upper portion of arm 30 has an inwardly extending taper 30a extending to a step 30b. A duct retainer, generally 49, is applied to the sides of the duct before the latter is put into place. This retainer comprises a length of sheet metal having a bottom flange 50, a side 51 formed with an outwardly projecting detent 52, inwardly projecting prongs 53 and an upper release lever 54. These duct retainers 49 are applied to the edges of the duct with the prongs 53 being pressed securely into the fiberglass duct material. As the duct with its retainers then is inserted between the arms 29 and 30, the resilient fiberglass material being somewhat compressed in the process, the detent 52 ultimately snaps into place behind step 30b so as to securely lock the fiberglass duct to the bar members 21 and 22, the joint being self sealing against air leakage. Inward pressure on release lever 54 will disengage detent 52 from step 30b and permit removal of the duct from the channel.

Shutters, generally 55, are employed on inner flanges 24 to serve as dampers for the regulation of the air flow. These shutters are formed of continuous lengths of sheet metal bent into a U so as to have an upper plate 56 and a lower plate 57. These plates frictionally grip the inner flanges 24. The inner flanges may be formed with grooves 24a into which the detent end 56acan seat at a variety of positions. The end 57a is bent outwardly to form a handle to facilitate the manipulation of the damper from the room below the ceiling.

Between the bar members 21 and 22 is an air extractor, generally 58 (FIGS. 8 and 9). It comprises a plate 59, the longitudinal edges of which have been bent down to form flanges 60. Along the center portion a plurality of three-sided cuts were made with the metal within the cuts areas being bent down to form a series of deflectors 61 and leaving openings 62 in the metal. The function of the extractor is to turn air downwardly when supplied for linear flow through the duct.

Along the under side is a cap or grille, generally 64, also preferably formed by metal extrusion. Along the under side, the cap has a center recess 65, into which the upper edge of a partition may be inserted if the area being ventilated is divided into rooms. A divider 66 extends upwardly at the center line of the cap and has an arrowhead ridge 67 along the top thereof. At each side of divider 66 the cap is provided with a plurality of openings 68. Along each side are upwardly extending the cap in place. 1

support flanges 69 having hooks 70 (FIG. 5) along the inner sides thereof. These hooks 70 are for engaging the bulbous ridges 32 of support members 31 to hold It is the common practice to position the longitudinal tees 15 on four foot centers. Accordingly, the bar'members 21 and 22, the extractor 58, the duct sections 46-48, the duct retainers 49 and the shutters 55 would be cut into, and supplied in, 4 foot lengths (or just that amount short of 4 feet to allow for the thickness of the metal at each side of the center line of the tees). The caps may also be supplied in lengths exactly 4 feet long.

While all of the hardware for a single unit may be packaged together, assembled or unassembled, and so supplied to the job, it may be more economical to package and ship the several component parts separately. The units will then be assembled at the job site, but this need not be done overhead; it can be done conveniently and rapidly on the floor or on a bench. Advantageously, a sheet of fiberglass ducting is scored (for bending), a duct retainer 49 applied to each long edge and bars pressed onto the ducting. The duct is then formed by bringing the sides up until the bars confront each other and the ends brackets 35 are inserted to hold the bar members together in the proper spaced relation. Insertion of the bracket wings into the ways is facilitated by the greater length and curved end of wing 38. Shutters are already in place on their supporting flanges 24 as the bars are supplied. The assembly is then turned right side up and the extractor 58 (if used) is put into place.

The thus assembled complete, integral unit is now ready to be positioned on the ceiling structure. It is relatively light and can be handled readily by one man. He lifts it up and deposits it at the desired location spanning a pair of grid tees. While it is resting on the tees, and working on one end at a time, he presses the clips at the tops of brackets 35 down securely over the heads of the tees. The unit is now in place, and the workman can proceed with the assembly and installation of another unit. If the job plans call for two or more lengths of duct and channel to be connected in series, the next unit is similarly placed in position in the grid in longitudinal alignment with the first unit. Exact alignment is automatically provided by the interdigitating fit of grippers 40, 41, 42 of the two associated support brackets. Following usual practice, the joint between adjacent ends of the units are taped to prevent appreciable air leakage.

The air-distributing'runs may be supplied with ventilating air by longitudinal (usually called linear in the trade) flow through the fiberglass duct from a source connected at one end, in which case the extractors are usually employed to turn the air downwardly, or the air may be supplied to the units from a supply duct through boot connections 73. Ends of ducts may be closed by means of closures 74 conveniently cut from the fiberglass ducting material and taped into place.

When all of the units of a given row have been put into place, the cap 64, cut to the proper length, is applied to the whole row of units. If the ducting extends from wall to wall of the room, then the cap 64 would be of that length. By pushing upwardly on cap 64 the supports 69 are forced into place so that the hooks 70 engage the ridges 32 of supports 31. As is apparent in FIG. 1, the cap 64 is below the bottom of flanges 18 of the tees so that a finished appearance is achieved.

Should the cap 64 only extend across a part of the room, filler plugs (not shown) may be inserted into the gaps at the exposed ends, which gaps would be below the bottom of bar members 21 and 22 and above the cap 64.

As is indicated above, caps 64 may be supplied in the same lengths as the other parts of the apparatus, in which case no cutting is necessary on the job. The continuous' length of cap presents a better appearance because most, if not all, of the butt end jointsmay be avoided. If the air-distributing units are arranged to meet at, for example, right angles in the ceiling, the parts of the apparatus, including the caps, may be cut to form a mitre type joint.

After the system has been installed, the dampers are set for the desired air flow from each side of cap 64. The flow on each side may be adjusted individually, since the gap between head 67 and the shutter 55 on each side is individually controllable. As a matter of fact, if desired, one side may be shut off entirely by bringing the shutter on that side over against head 67.

It will be understood that ventilating air supplied to the air-distributing channels will flow downwardly to the cap, then the stream will be divided and deflected to flow outwardly in opposite directions along under the ceiling, merging and mixing with the air in the room to provide draftless ventilation. By adjustment of the shutter dampers, the flow may be directed and the flow characteristics controlled to meet the needs of the particular location.

The apparatus itself is susceptible of many variations to adapt it to particular air requirements. The units may be installed in any lengths. If lengths less than the normal space between grid supports are to be employed, an additional grid tee or two may be used to support the unit. Esthetic and functional considerations may be of bracket 35 and the length of the back of bracket As is suggested in the foregoing description, ventilating air may be supplied to the distributing channels either linearly from one end of the duct which is a part of the unit, in which case the air extractors would ordinarily be employed to turn the longitudinal flow downwardly as the air is fed to the room below, or more or less transversely of the duct when the air is fed from a main supply duct through flexible boots. in the latter case, the extractors may be dispensed with. If the space above the suspended ceiling is used as a supply plenum the fiberglass ducts will be omitted, the ventilating air flowing directly into the distributing channels from the plenum space.

We claim:

1. A metal bar for use in the formation of an air flow channel comprising a vertical web, an external flange extending from the bottom of one side of said web at a right angle thereto, an internal flange extending from the bottom portion of the other side of said web throughout the length thereof at approximately a right angle thereto, means for adjustably widening said internal flange, said means comprising a shutter substantially U-shaped in cross section having resilient legs frictionally engaging opposite sides of said internal flange and a pair of parallel facing hook formations on a side of said web forming a way therewith adapted to receive means for supporting said bar. 

1. A metal bar for use in the formation of an air flow channel comprising a vertical web, an external flange extending from the bottom of one side of said web at a right angle thereto, an internal flange extending from the bottom portion of the other side of said web throughout the length thereof at approximately a right angle thereto, means for adjustably widening said internal flange, said means comprising a shutter substantially U-shaped in cross section having resilient legs frictionally engaging opposite sides of said internal flange and a pair of parallel facing hook formations on a side of said web forming a way therewith adapted to receive means for supporting said bar. 